Symptoms

The official SolVe Desktop procedure to shutdown or restart a VPLEX cluster may result in I/O disruption on RecoverPoint-enabled distributed consistency-groups for MetroPoint configurations until I/O is manually resumed in the applicable consistency-groups.Normal RecoverPoint configurations (non-MetroPoint) will not have I/O disruption.

Cause

The procedure Phase 1, Task 16, asks to identify and take note of any RecoverPoint enabled distributed consistency-groups (if applicable) with detach rule configured as winner for the cluster that is going to be shutdown / restarted (i.e. cluster-1-winner if cluster-1 is going to be shutdown / restarted).If RecoverPoint is enabled on a distributed consistency-group, you cannot modify the group s detach-rule, hence if you shutdown or restart the cluster that is configured as the winner for those consistency-group, the distributed devices within the consistency-group will be suspended in MetroPoint configurations until it is manually resumed in the cluster that will remain up. The procedure's Phase 1 Task 21 asks to manually resume these suspended RecoverPoint enabled consistency-groups on the cluster that will remain online with the "choose-winner" CLI command once you have shutdown the winning cluster.This means it is expected to experience I/O disruption on the distributed devices within the RecoverPoint enabled distributed consistency-groups for the time frame between shutting down the winning cluster and manually resuming then in the cluster that remains online.Depending on the host type, this time frame might be enough for them to consider they permanently lost access to those volumes, entering a state where a reboot is necessary to recover access to them even after manually resuming I/O on the VPLEX cluster that remains online.

Resolution

Be sure to generate the latest SolVe Desktop/Online Shutdown procedure that applies to the code level (VS2) and the planned cluster(s) to be shutdown. For VS6, it is all 6.x so be sure to generate the latest shutdown procedure for the planned cluster(s) to be shutdown. Once you have the procedure needed for the action to be done, review it in its entirety to ensure there are no questions and, once you start the action, follow the procedure exactly as it is written.For MetroPoint configurations, currently you should plan your maintenance considering that there may be I/O disruption in all volumes within RecoverPoint enabled distributed consistency-groups, and act accordingly from host side to prevent unplanned outages or issues.Single cluster shutdown on a VPlex VS2 platform running on Geosynchrony 6.x with MetroPoint configured: Generate and follow the instructions from the latest SolVE Desktop procedure (as listed below) for a non disruptive procedure for data replication to MetroPoint.VPLEX > VPLEX Admin Procedures > Manage > Shutdown > VS2 Shutdown Procedures > 6.0 and later > Cluster-1 OR Cluster-2 > MetroSingle cluster shutdown on a VPlex VS6 platform running on Geosynchrony 6.x with MetroPoint configured: For a non-disruptive procedure for data replication to MetroPoint, generate both the following procedures (VS6 and VS2) listed below and follow the instructions provided.Generate the latest SolVE Desktop procedure to shutdown a VS6 cluster.VPLEX > VPLEX Admin Procedures > Manage > Shutdown > VS6 Shutdown Procedures > Cluster-1 OR Cluster-2 in a Metro configurationGenerate the latest SolVE Desktop procedure to shutdown a VS2 cluster running on Geosynchrony 6.0 and later.VPLEX > VPLEX Admin Procedures > Manage > Shutdown > VS2 Shutdown Procedures > 6.0 and later > Cluster-1 OR Cluster-2 > MetroFollow the steps provided below (assuming that cluster-1 is being shutdown).From the VS6 shutdown procedure: Task 1: Connecting to MMCS-A Task 2: Log in to the VPlexcliTask 3: Connect to the management server on cluster 2 Task 4: Change the transfer size for all distributed-devices to 128KTask 5: Verify current data migration statusTask 6: Make any remote exports available locally on cluster-2Task 7: Stop the I/O on the hosts that are using VPLEX volumes from cluster 1, or move I/O to cluster 2Task 8: Check status of rebuilds initiated from cluster-1, wait for these rebuilds to complete Task 9: Re-login to the management server and VPlexcli on cluster 2Task 10: Verify the cluster healthTask 11: Verify COM switch health Task 12: Collect Diagnostics From the VS2 shutdown procedure: Task 18: (MetroPoint only) If MetroPoint is deployed, make changes for all distributed synchronous consistency groups with RecoverPoint enabled in VPLEX Task 19: (MetroPoint Only) Power Down RecoverPoint Cluster From the VS6 shutdown procedure: Task 15: Disable Call HomeTask 16: Identify RecoverPoint-enabled distributed consistency-groups with cluster 1 as winnerTask 17: Make cluster 2 the winner for all distributed synchronous consistency-groups with RecoverPoint not enabled Task 18: Set the winner cluster for all distributed synchronous consistency groups and alldevices outside consistency groups Task 19: Make cluster 2 the winner for all distributed devices outside consistency group Task 20: Disable VPLEX Witness Task 21: Shut down the VPLEX firmware on cluster 1Task 22: Manually resume any suspended Recover Point enabled consistency groups on cluster-2Task 23: Shut down the VPLEX directors on cluster-1 Task 24: Shut down MMCS-A and MMCS-B on cluster-1Task 25: Shut down power to the VPLEX cabinet Task 26: Exit the SSH sessions, restore your laptop settings, restore the default cabling Power on: Follow the standard power-on procedure for VS6 (Phase 3: Restart cluster)

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